Inside the ultra-private one-room hotels redefining luxury travel

Enter the brownie to end all brownies. It came cloaked in malai, the Indian version of clotted cream, and pulverized jaggery. My spoon slipped through, revealing an interior so moist and black, it looked like you could grow tomatoes in it.

Dessert was not, however, the sweetest thing about this epic meal at the Permit Room, a branch of the London-based Dishoom empire. The sweetest part was the fact that the only thing separating me from postprandial relaxation in a waffle-knit robe was a viridian stairwell up to the Lodgings—a one-room hotel I had all to myself.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat, splashed with exuberant fabrics and Art Deco lighting, has arched windows that look out on the neighborhood’s famous Portobello Road Market, where tourists and locals skitter between stalls hawking silver teapots, first-edition books, and vintage Burberry trench coats. And there were plenty of treasures to find in the Lodgings, too, including a smart vinyl collection and a veritable museum of modern South Asian art curated by the L.A. gallerist Rajiv Menon.

TARAN WILKHU/COURTESY OF THE PERMIT ROOM/DISHOOM

The founders of Dishoom, cousins Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, had been thinking about this hotel concept for a while. “We’ve always adored those stays in Bombay with friends or family, someone pressing food into our hands, and a sense of being properly looked after,” says Kavi. “We wondered, what if we could bottle that feeling of warmth and hospitality, and bring it here?”

The cousins have hosted millions for meals at their four Permit Rooms and 11 Dishoom restaurants, but the opening of the Lodgings in July (at £700 per night) marks the first time they’ve had guests stay overnight.

They’ve hit upon a new mood in the luxury hotel arms race: sumptuous hideouts that combine the privacy of an exclusive-use rental with the amenities of a full-service property. The most rarefied stay, it turns out, is the one where you’re the only guest. 

MATTHIEU SALVAING/COURTESY OF LA TOUR D’ARGENT

You won’t find these rooms on Expedia. Bookings are typically via email or an old-fashioned phone call. At the 1RoomHotel in Detroit, in a historic building in Corktown—it boasts an infrared sauna, Soho Home furnishings, and a 1,000-square-foot terrace—hotelier Doug Schwartz works mostly by referral. “We only do one booking a week, 50 guests a year,” he says. “So we really try to cater to that person.” That could mean their favorite cocktail prestocked in the minibar, or a tour around Motor City in the house car, a restored 1972 Ford Bronco. “At a hotel with a hundred rooms,” he said, “all that stuff gets lost in translation.”

While these properties are not all above restaurants, most target food-destination travelers looking to extend their experience from dining room to bedroom. From Chicago (the minimalist Loft at Michelin twostar Oriole) to Tasmania (the Ogee Guesthouse, neighboring the perpetually packed wine bar of the same name), access to a hard-to-get reservation is a motivating amenity in its own right. 

The Permit Room has a line of hopeful diners snaking out the front door the entire day. But as the only overnight guest, I had a table waiting for me whenever I felt like eating, or I could order up room service from my living room’s baby-blue landline telephone. Before going to bed, I marked my breakfast order on the doorknob hanger menu, and awoke to fragrant masala chai, an immunity-boosting ginger shot, brioche French toast, and yogurt speckled with what looked like $100 worth of vanilla bean. The minibar fridge was stocked with Dishoom’s superb mango lassi.

TARAN WILKHU/COURTESY OF THE PERMIT ROOM/DISHOOM

In Paris, those who can’t get into the famous La Tour d’Argent might consider its Augusta Apartment (€1,800 per night). André Terrail, whose family has owned the Left Bank restaurant for 114 years, converted it in 2023 from the old private dining room. Why let the magic of a La Tour tasting fizzle after paying the bill, when it might continue with a nightcap overlooking an illuminated Notre Dame and slumber in a bespoke Maison Tréca bed? Terrail’s grandfather also managed the iconic Hotel George V (now the Four Seasons) in the early 20th century, so “it sounded logical that we would extend back into a hotel-like experience,” he said.

But it was Terrail’s grandmother, Augusta Burdel, who inspired the design. A patroness of the arts and woman-abouttown, she lived in the apartment 50 years ago, and probably would have appreciated the custom-built Scandinavian sauna and peacock-blue kitchen, as well as the ivory wainscoting and herringbone wood floors. Guests have the run of the place and can hire a barman to mix martinis in residence or unwind on the restaurant’s rooftop terrace after the venue closes for the night. 

“The apartment is a little bit like going to Disneyland [mixed] with the Terrail and La Tour d’Argent story,” Terrail says. “I think we are having tons of fun with it.

Five unique boutiques

If you love the pomp of a grand hotel but crave quiet and a personal touch, these exquisite one-roomers are for you.

The Lodgings at The Permit Room, London

The cousins behind Dishoom, the wildly popular Indian restaurant chain, bring some bona fide Bombay hospitality to Portobello Road. 

La Tour D’Argent’s Augusta Apartment, Paris

André Terrail, the restaurant’s third-generation owner, has modernized what was once his grandmother’s apartment with colorful flair.

The 1RoomHotel, Detroit

The 50 guests a year who snag a booking here can enjoy an infrared sauna, a spacious terrace, and the opportunity to tool around in a 1972 Ford Bronco.

The Loft at Oriole, Chicago

A stay above the two-Michelin-star restaurant includes a reservation at Oriole’s Kitchen Table for “a front-row dining experience” with chef Noah Sandoval. 

Ogee Guesthouse, Tasmania

Matt and Monique Breen’s two-bedroom apartment—steps from their renowned restaurant, Ogee— offers a listening room with records from their own collection.

This article appears in the October/November 2025 issue of Fortune with the headline “Be our (only) guest.”